While our new Mama range won best new Mum to Be brand launch at the Mum & Baby Awards 2018. As a certified organic brand these awards make us extremely proud and thus for this week’s blog we are giving the low down on organic skincare, the benefits and how you can be sure that the beauty products you are buying are the real deal.

What is Organic Beauty?

According to the Soil Association “Organic Beauty is the formultion of cosmetic products using organically farmed ingredients. These ingredients are grown without the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GM), herbicides, synthetic fertilisers and more”.

When you choose organic beauty, you are saying Yes to:

Sustainably sourced organic ingredients

Using natural colours and fragrances from plants and flowers

Transparent manufacturing processes

Biodegradable ingredients

Minimal packaging with maximum recycled content

And NO to:

Animal testing

GM ingredients

Controversial chemicals

Parabens and Phthalates

Synthetic colours, dyes or fragrances

False Labelling

Have you ever bought a product after been enticed by the labelling professing that it is ‘Natural’ or ‘Organic’ only to discover that the product isn’t actually what it seemed to be? You’re probably not alone, a survey by the Soil Association reveals that some 76% of consumers have felt misled by the labelling on beauty products and as part of the research into their Campaign for Clarity, they found that 72% of people would lose trust in a beauty brand that made misleading claims about being organic.

Greenwashing

So how do you know if a product is truly organic? Unfortunately, unlike EU food standards, there are no such rules for using ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ in the labelling of beauty products, therefore many brands are greenwashing their labelling to claim standards they have no basis for.

Look for the Label

With so many brands claiming to be organic, how do you cut through the noise? Keep an eye out for certification logos that show a brand has had to prove its credentials. In 2002 the Soil Association launched the first standards for organic cosmetics, their certification process is independent and rigorous.

To reach the Soil Association standard, the entire manufacturing process of a company including the sourcing of ingredients, formulation procedures and premises, as well as the packaging are reviewed. Once a brand has passed the certification process they are given the Soil Association 'stamp of approval'. Check out the Soil Association logo on VOYA products, so that you can be assured our products are fully organic!

Sustainable Beauty

Most truly organic beauty brands are incorporating an eco-conscious standard into their manufacturing processes. It goes without saying that VOYA has adopted organic and sustainable ways of creating our products. We combine the purest ingredients with ancient traditions and sustainable processes to create a range of products and treatments that achieve exceptional results.

We harvest wild organic seaweeds by hand to ensure the delicate coastal environment of the West of Ireland is not damaged and offset our unavoidable emissions through World Land Trust’s Carbon Balanced Programme. Our products are packaged using recycled, recyclable or biodegradable materials. Our packaging board is a special blend of FSC certified pulps using our own harvested seaweed and even the packing chips we use are 100% bio-degradable and dissolve in water.

VOYA'S Organic Philosophy

“We believe that a sustainable ocean & environment should be our legacy, we care deeply about the health of our planet”

Benefits of going Organic

Are you aware that the skin is your largest organ? Therefore, being more informed about the products we put on our skin should be a top priority because anything we layer onto our skin has the ability to be absorbed into our bloodstream. A recent study showed that some people in some countries are using 18 cosmetic products per day* on average.

Here are some of the benefits of incorporating organic products into your beauty regime:

Be more Eco Friendly: Parabens and other chemicals found in daily cosmetics not only destroy the beneficial properties of seaweed but can also have a negative environmental impact. When ingredients are farmed and manufactured in a sustainable and organic way, fewer chemicals are put into the air and water.

Less irritation:Organic extracts are anti-microbial and have a solid reputation as a natural healer, therefore they are less likely to cause irritation compared to products that contain harsh chemicals, artificial colours and synthetic fillers.

Natural Scents:Organic products like VOYA’s are created using only the most natural colours and fragrances from plants and flowers and not artificial fragrances. Therefore, the aroma is less harsh and gentler on the senses.

Less side effects:Organic beauty products use natural preservatives and while some people may have slight reactions to some natural plant based ingredients, the effects are much less severe than the ones from synthetic ingredients.

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